Alonso expecting to fight at the front

Ferrari's Fernando Alonso is confident that he can fight for victory in front of his home crowd at Barcelona.

Alonso was second quickest in practice, 0.017s slower than Sebastian Vettel.

"The signs from today are positive, as we were quick in both the morning and afternoon and the car seems to be well balanced on light and heavy fuel loads," he said.

"The feeling is definitely good and even though we are aware it won’t be easy, we are sure we can fight it out with the best. I don’t expect any great surprises compared to Bahrain and I think the top group is now defined, with Red Bull, Mercedes, ourselves and Lotus, although we need to see how much McLaren manages to improve, while also keeping an eye on Force India, who have been very strong in qualifying and the race."

Team-mate Felipe Massa was fifth fastest.

"Even on the long run, the car seemed competitive and this makes me confident and so I hope we can continue to do well right to the end of the weekend," he said.